The Rugrats Live-Action Movie Is Causing Controversy & Scaring Fans - Here's Why

There was a time when Nickelodeon dominated television, and at the forefront of the takeover was a squad of dumb babies (Angelica's words, not ours) who were absorbing the real world in their own special way. The Rugrats first wobbled onto our TVs in 1991 and made it to the big screen in two movies — "The Rugrats Movie" and "Rugrats in Paris." Now, after the show got a CGI reboot in 2021, Paramount believes there's still some fun to be had with Tommy, Angelica, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Susie, and Kimi, with plans to bring the Rugrats into the real world, which might terrify you as much as it already has for those that caught the news.

In October 2024, Deadline reported that a brand new (brace yourself) CGI and live-action hybrid movie was in the pipeline, and that a director was already on board to take this iconic team of toddlers into a new era. Flipping the latch on the group's playpen is Jason Moore, who has a fairly funny filmography that could benefit the project. He'll be working from a script penned by "Saturday Night Live" alumni Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell. But just what kind of adventure will Tommy and company be getting up to, and when can we expect the Rugrats to return? Well, hang onto your "diapies," folks. Things are about to get weird — and it wouldn't be the first time.

At the time of writing, there are no confirmed details about what the upcoming "Rugrats" movie will involve, but you can expect something akin to what worked as a tried and tested formula for the series during its impressive nine-season run that spanned from 1991 to 2004. As was always the case for Tommy, Chuckie, and pals, an imaginative adventure unfolded that saw the ankle-biters try to wrap their head around the world they were exploring for the first time. This usually led to confrontation with Tommy's older cousin, Angelica, and more often than not, their respective parents only finding out at the last minute what they were all up to.

There's no confirmed release date for the film, but given that this is considered a staple of Nickelodeon history, it would make sense for the filmmakers to get the big-wheel tricycle turning as fast as possible, particularly with the talent involved so far. No stranger to franchises, director Jason Moore's directorial debut was that little known acapella comedy "Pitch Perfect," which sparked two sequels and had a hand in making Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson household names. When it comes to the little tykes known as Tommy and Chuckie though, Moore might have his hands full, particularly as this wouldn't be the first time the Rugrats have attempted to leap to live-action.

While it might seem like things are developing at Paramount in getting a new "Rugrats" movie in the works, it would actually mark the second time a CGI and live-action effort was underway. In 2018, there were plans for a live-action "Rugrats" movie along with a series reboot. The film even had a release date of 2020, before being switched over for a live-action version of "Clifford the Big Red Dog," pushing it back to 2021. Eventually, the studio shelved the project altogether (via Deadline).

Admittedly, the movie's cancellation didn't impede in bringing the babies back to audiences, given that a reboot of the "Rugrats" series came as part of the arrival of Paramount+. Premiering in 2021, the series featured the original show's voice cast reprising their roles. While the revival flourished eventually, airing on Nickelodeon as well as Paramount+, the new look of the characters got a not-so-positive reaction on social media, and could very likely be a sign of things to come given the direction the upcoming big-screen endeavor is taking.

To think of the ragtag team of heroes on the cusp of handling potty-training, "Rugrats" was a quirky hand-drawn world filled with characters with overly large heads resting on pencil-thin necks. It was this unique aesthetic that was attempted to be replicated in the 2021 CGI reboot and ended up being deemed a failure by those that got an initial glimpse at a pre-release clip. As reported by The Independent, social media was having none of what Paramount was selling as the all-new "Rugrats." The CGI-look of Angelica and her longtime adversaries was ripped to pieces, with fans calling it "f*****g horrifying" and even comparing the effort to the 1998 platform game for the original PlayStation.

With that kind of reception for the reboot series, what could Paramount expect when it comes to a live-action take on the characters that will potentially have CGI babies jabbering away to one another while the parents aren't around? Are we to expect an upgraded version of "Look Who's Talking?" with real babies having CGI mouths? Or could the upcoming film outdo "Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2," which used a CGI baby to depict Renesmee? Such creative choices might spark controversy, but then it certainly wouldn't be the first time the show had encountered issues, either of their own doing or at the behest of fans and some very wild theories.

For a show focusing on kids trying to fight fear of the dark, tackling toilet etiquette, and idolizing a knock-off Godzilla in Reptar, "Rugrats" ran into some pretty serious issues when it was in its prime. A notable issue involved a comic strip showing Grandpa Boris reciting the Mourner's Kaddish; the character's design was compared to Nazi-era propaganda of Jews, which in turn besmirched the prayer itself. Nickelodeon was called out by The Washington Post, who issued a statement saying the strip was "inappropriate and should not have appeared" in the publication. The channel — which had been praised for the positive representation of Jewish holidays — gave an apologetic statement for the event.

In addition to this, there was also a fan theory that began on tumblr (via Teen Vogue), positing that the children were, in fact, a figment of Angelica's imagination, constructed as a coping mechanism for her parent's negligence. According to the theory, Tommy was a stillborn, Phil and Lil were aborted, and Chuckie died with his mother, who had passed away on the show. "Rugrats" was already riddled with dark details, but thankfully, co-creator Arlene Klasky put the idea to bed, telling BuzzFeed in 2016, that "a lot of people believe in this theory and it's not true." Here's hoping things get off on a brighter note whenever this mad-capped CGI-like "Rugrats" movie finally hits screens in the future.